Breaking the Chains
by Ink17
Summary: Sequel to Republic High and The Shackles of Servitude. Read them first! R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and quotes are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd.**

**Monster energy drink is a product of the Coca-Cola beverage company-something I also don't own. **

**Alright boys and girls, Ink17 here, dropping another hammer on ya! I thought I'd be done with the _Republic High_ duology, but something just keeps pulling me back to it, and now we have the third installment of the _Republic High _series: _Breaking the Chains!_ I hope you guys enjoy it...I['m not to sure where it's headed at the moment, but I'll sort that out later. Don't forget to review.**

**Here we go!**

Blackness.

Cold and dark and suffocating.

And yet...even here, in this frigid, lifeless limbo-voices are drifting.

"Yeah, picked this one up off the street, poor mudcrutch. I wonder what an old guy like him did to get capped like this. I'm amazed he lived long enough for us to get to him."

Pain now, blistering, blossoming in the center of his chest around a thumb sized hole that's weeping ichor and pus, covered in white bandages.

"Enough chatter. Get him prepped for surgery ASAP."

"Right away sir."

_*****BtC*****_

"Slow down, Leia your breakfast isn't going anywhere and you still have plenty of time before you have to get going. Is your brother out of bed yet?" Padmé asks.

Leia pauses from her efficiently businesslike cramming of cereal into her mouth to nod absently. "I know...nervous jitters, I guess. Luke wasn't awake last time I checked-I think he was out with the guys last night." She says shrugging indifferently. "Frankly, I don't know why he idolizes those guys so much; Wedge and Biggs moved on to bigger and better things. I swear, I'll never understand this whole 'action sports' foolishness."

A knowing smile skirts across Padmé's lips. "Cut your brother some slack...I know I'm always telling you to take life seriously; but that doesn't mean you can't have any fun. I was pretty rough-and-tumble when I was your age." she admits.

"Whatever. I still think he's wasting his time." Leia's dark brown, eyes-so much like her mother's-flash up at the clock on the microwave and she hurriedly gulps down the remainder of her breakfast and shoves her chair away from the table. "I'm gonna go get ready for school. The first student council meeting of the year is today, and I want to make myself look presentable."

Padmé automatically starts collecting her daughter's dishes and nods. "Okay, dear. Wake your brother up too, please."

Leia flashes an angelic smile and flounces up the stairs.

_Oh, boy._ Padmé thinks to herself. If she knows her daughter as well as she thinks she does, Luke is in for a rude awakening.

Anakin comes up the stairs from the basement, skin glistening with a sheen of sweat from his workout. His blue eyes are aglow with life as he wraps his wife in a tender embrace and plants a kiss on her lips.

"Good morning, my love." he breathes.

Padmé returns the affectionate gesture and smiles. "Good morning to you too, dear."

A heavy thud and a series of loud clangs comes from the second floor, and both of them share a knowing glance.

Anakin grins. "Luke's awake."

_*****BtC*****_

The alarm clock is blaring and I can't find the kriffing snooze button to save my life. I stretch out for the nightstand, flailing blindly for the infernal kriffing clock, but my clumsy arm knocks it to the floor instead. The beeping dies with a pathetic whine as I force myself into a sitting position.

_Scratch one alarm clock. Good riddance. _I sit up , rubbing the crust out of my eyes and then _Leia _ flings open the door-when she stang well knows that it irritates the kriff out of me when she just barges in like she kriffing owns the place-and starts banging on an empty pot with a wooden spoon.

Immediately, my head is pounding, and I chuck my pillow at her; anything to make the noise stop.

"_Good morning_!" I can practically taste the syrup dripping off her disgustingly cheerful words as she dodges the fluffy projectile. Everyone thinks she's some kind of kriffing angel-they just can't see the horns holding up the halo.

"Whatever sis. Get out and leave me alone. Unless you want to watch me undress, that is."

Leia's face twists into an appalled scowl and she chucks my pillow back at me. "_Ew_! You pig! That's _disgusting._" She slams the door then leaving me to my morning tasks.

I fumble around though the pile of clothes on the floor-I _really_ need to clean in here-searching for the one thing that will get me going.

When my fingers finally close around the miraculously-still-cold can of liquid crack-also known and Monster-I don't waste any time in cracking the top and dumping the stuff down my throat.

"That stuff is going to kill you one day, Luke." Leia chastises from the bathroom across the hall.

I roll my eyes at her admonition-I swear sometimes that she was born at thirty-five. Chuckling, I down the rest of the can and throw on some clothes. The first day of school is waiting for me.

_Oh, __**joy.**_

**That's all for now guys. I know it's really short, but it's just the first chapter, the next ones will be longer. Don't forget to review!**

**May the Force be with you,**

**~Ink**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Ltd. **

**I want to thank everyone for all the great reviews so far, I really appreciate the support. I should probably warn you guys now, some of the canon relationships need to be re-worked for this fic since Anakin and Padmé are still alive...for instance Bail Organa can't be Leia's adoptive father, since she already has one.**

**Secondly, although I know the rules of Sabbacc in canon differ greatly from Blackjack, they confuse me, and for the purposes of this fic, all Sabbac games will be played like Blackjack.**

**Chapter two is coming in for a landing. Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

**Look out below!**

Luke roars into the parking lot at MYA at breakneck speed, whipping the wheel sideways in a frenzied blur of motion-yet somehow he remains in complete control.

The harsh screeching of the tires on the pavement grates on my eardrums as my stomach rolls and I fight to keep my breakfast down. I grit my teeth and lock my jaw-as Class President, I _can not _show up on the first day of class wearing my breakfast as an accessory.

As the cloud of smoke from all the rubber Luke's burned in his insane entrance begins to dissipate, I can't help but notice-despite the fact that I can't decide whether to strangle Luke now or later-that his parking job is impeccable. I still could have done without the dramatics.

I shove the car door open harder than I mean to, directing what I hope is an intimidating glare in Luke's direction. "You _maniac!_ You almost got us killed!"

Luke rolls his eyes, which just irritates me more. "You're still in one piece, aren't you?"

I can feel my eyes narrowing even further now-he's really starting to get on my nerves. "Yes, thank the Maker."

"Oh, quit your whining and live a little sis. Stop being so anally retentive; it's bad for your health." With that, Luke shrugs his backpack over his shoulder adjusts the leather jacket that he borrowed from Dad, and heads inside.

_That little mudcrutch! He's probably on a "cool-kid" kick just 'cause he borrowed Dad's jacket._

"If looks could kill..." Bail Organa intones behind me, instantly lightening the mood.

"Bail!" I squeal, turning to hug him. "It's so good to see you again! How was your summer?"

Bail waves his hand dismissively. "Boring as usual, but the debate team from MYA won nationals. How was yours?"

I nod, Bail is on the debate team, but he's so modest that winning in _nationals_ doesn't seem like a big deal to him.

"Mine was okay; I spent most of it watching Luke do incredibly dangerous and stupid things, he's an 'action sports' athlete." I grimace in distaste at the name. _More like stunt-double wannabe._

Bail winces, and I know he's thinking the exact same thing. "That bites." He says.

"Yeah Leia, sounds pretty boring." Mon Mothma has snuck up behind me and her voice startles me for a second. I turn to give her a hug as well and I'm about to ask her how her summer is going, but the shrill ringing of the school bell interrupts me.

"Well, it was good seeing you all again. We'll meet up at lunch?" I suggest as we make our way toward the entrance.

"Sure," Bail agrees, and then we all split up to sprint to homeroom before class begins.

_*****BtC*****_

"Luke!" Biggs razzes, clapping my back in a friendly gesture.

"Biggs!" I return with equal verve, bumping fists with him.

"I saw that entrance into the parking lot this morning: _awesomeness_!" Biggs continues, singing the last part in a high falsetto.

"Dude, you're way too good at that." Wedge intones, socking Biggs' arm as he saunters over.

Biggs scowls at the remark, and is about to respond with a particularly scathing comeback, but Wedge continues, effectively cutting him off.

"So, are you coming to the Games this weekend. It's all about promoting BASE jumping but it's being held way out in the Dantooine countryside, and I gotta start raising some coin." Wedge wonders.

"That Calrissian kid is working the cafeteria tables again this year. I heard he made somewhere around a quarter-mil last year when he counted all his winnings." Biggs interjects.

"Yeah, but he lost his car to that Han Solo kid...he was pretty peeved about that. Been trying to win it back ever since."

"That sucks." I agree. _Whoever's stupid enough to bet a __**car**__in a card game deserves to have it taken from them when they lose._ "Maybe, I'll hit those tables with you, I'm broke too, and I gotta raise some serious coin if I wanna compete in the games."

"S'cuse me boys." A girl from our class, tall and lean, with flowing red hair and emerald green eyes saunters past."

Beautiful.

Radient.

Exquisite.

I need better words. My current vocabulary is sorely lacking to describe her...to call her beautiful would almost be an insult.

Biggs and Wedge are laughing now, loud and obnoxious as all get-out.

"What?" I ask. "What's so blasted funny?"

"You, man," Biggs wheezes.

"You're totally smitten!" Wedge cackles.

"I am not!" I protest, but then the bell rings and drowns me out.

I roll my eyes at Wedge and Biggs' retreating backs and then head to my own class-wouldn't want to be late on the first day.

**That's all for now folks, don't forget to Review! I'd like to have a grand total of five before I post the next chapter.**

**In the next chapter we get to see Han and Lando for the first time..._And,_ as an added bonus, the first reviewer gets to beta the first chapter of my new story: **

_**Domination: The Mindgate Conspiracy**_

**May the Force be with you,**

**~Ink**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and quotes are the property of George Lucas and .**

**Punk Goes Pop volumes 1-4 belong to Fearless Records (c) and all songs used are the property of their respective artists.**

**And yeah, that whole band-playing-music-during-lunch thing? Totally not mine. _Bandslam_ had it first. _Bandslam _is owned by Disney Inc. and Summit Entertainment co.**

**The band _Six Ways To Sunday _(Not to be confused with the real life band "Six Ways _From_ Sunday) in this fic is a cover band which plays songs from the _Punk Goes..._Series mentioned above. Check them out if you get a chance, they're really good!**

**Anyways, the song they play in this chapter is _Static Lullaby_'s cover of _Toxic_, originally performed by Brittany Spears. **

**Sheesh, I'm gonna have to write a whole separate page just for the copyright stuff!, **

**Enjoy!**

The cafeteria is buzzing with the sound of adolescents on the loose. From the way Mon's upper lip is curled and the way Bail's shoulders are tensed in a half-cringe, I know they share my distaste.

The whole place is loud, but two areas can instantly be pinpointed as being the loudest.

The first is a small table in the farthest corner of the lunchroom, where several people are playing cards. A young man with caramel-colored skin, curly dark hair, and charming grin is with them. All of them have decent fashion-sense but he's arguably the best dressed out of the whole crew. His crisp white shirt and black tie are businesslike, but he's messed them up enough so that they don't clash with his pressed jeans, canvas sneakers and silver watch.

"Hit me," The boy says in a voice like milk and honey.

Another boy with pasty skin and a shaved head eyes him skeptically. "If you say so," He shrugs and slaps a card on the table.

With a triumphant grin the darker-skinned boy flips his cards over. "Read 'em and weep, ladies and gents!" He croons, eliciting a round of groans from the other players. And then, he stands and makes his way over to me as the other players fish out their wallets and pile money on the table.

The boy takes my hand gently in his own, and presses his lips to my knuckles, flashing me a brilliant smile.

My heart skips a beat. _He. Is. Gorgeous!_

"Well, _hello_, beautiful." He purrs, and somehow, it's neither creepy, nor pervy coming from his mouth. "I don't believe we've met before. My name is Lando. Lando Calrissian."

"Uh...hi." I say stupidly. _Wow..._ And then it clicks, and I blush, embarrassed at my mistake. "Oh, right...I'm Leia. Leia Skywalker...It's nice to meet you."

Lando grins. "The pleasure was all mine, I assure you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to finish up. You should come sit with us sometime, there's always room for one more; especially when she's as exquisite as you are."

A girl with fiery red hair and emerald-green eyes gets up from the table as Lando sits back down.

"Hey guys." She says to Bail and Mon.

"You're new here right?" She continues, looking at me.

I nod uncertainly. "Yeah."

"The name's Mara Jade. Nice to meet you." She says

"Likewise." I respond politely.

"I'd stay away from that table if I were you. Lando's a nice guy, but that's a good way to get yourself in debt."

I nod. "Thanks for the tip."

Mara starts speaking again, but her words are drowned out by the incredible noise coming from the stage that takes up one wall of the cafeteria.

There's a band on stage led by a boy an outfit similar to Lando's.

The boy is good looking, I suppose in his own, rugged sort of way. His black dress shirt and red tie go well with his black jeans and skate shoes, and they are just unkempt enough perfectly convey _Heartbreaker_ rather than _Uh...yeah...I got dressed in the dark this morning._

His dance moves are perfectly smooth and impeccably in sync with the thumping beat. His voice isn't bad either, he some how manages to be almost pitch-perfect despite the fact that he's feathering between a set of kriffing _golden _pipes and that creepy emo/screamo junk.

The student body seems to enjoy it enough, pumping their fists and jumping up and down in time to the music like a mini-riot in progress.

Luke and his idiot friends are no exception cheering and flailing around like class-a morons they pass.

I roll my eyes at Luke's antics, and the fact that he doesn't seem to notice how precarious his grip on his slushie is.

Which is why I'm completely unsurprised when he manages to upend it, spilling it's contents directly on top of Mara Jade's head.

_*****BtC*****_

The girl's eyes are blazing.

"Dude, what the kriff!" Biggs and Wedge exclaim in unison.

"You kriffing mudcrutch! You ruined my hair, and the top Daddy bought me! I'll kill you!" She seethed.

"Um, I'm sorry?" I offer lamely.

She just glares and shuffles out of the cafeteria.

"Do you want us to start planning the funeral now or later?" Wedge asks.

"Oh, come on guys, is it really that bad?" I wonder.

"You do realize who you just accidentally slushied, right? That was Mara Jade." Biggs presses.

I can feel the color draining from my face as I realize I actually _have_ heard the name before. But surely, they can't be the same person, because the only _Mara Jade_ I know is the one who won the national Mixed Martial Arts fighting competition last year.

I am _so _kriffed.

**Yeah, this is another short one. Sorry, I'm still trying to work out some of the story arc...longer chapters will follow. Don't forget to Review!**

**May the Force be with you,**

**~Ink**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and quotes are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd.**

**Wow, chapter 4 already...I can hardly believe it. This thing's really picking up. I Before we get started...I have to clarify something: The opening of Chapter 1 for this fic, the part with the hospital-that was more of an epilogue for Shackles of Servitude. Most of you will figure out what that means right away, but I won't spoil it for those of you who aren't sure.**

**On with the show!**

Mara's cold green eyes snap to mine as I step into the room for my last class of the day, Chemistry 101.

_How ironic...Chemistry._ The thought flashes by in my head as I stare back at Mara, her eyes as hard as diamonds. _Yeah...we totally don't have that. _The orange stain on her once-pristine white shirt is _really_ noticable...Suddenly, her anger seems much more justified-if someone did that to me, I'd be ticked too.

I drop into my seat, placing my hands carefully so that I look relaxed, but in reality, I just want a quick defense in case she decides to stab me with her pencil.

The class period passes in silence.

I spend most of it staring at Mara, terrified, and intrigued at the same time. Even though ninety percent of my focus is devoted to calculating all the possible ways she could knock me off my stool, the other ten percent is most definitely checking her out.

The perfect angle of her cheekbones. The way her fiery-red hair flops into her enrapturing emerald eyes every time she turns to glare at me-which is far more often than I would like, and very unnerving. Her slim, delicate fingers-that could choke me out in a split second...And those lips...

Femme Fatal personified.

Nevertheless, I'm caught by surprise-even though I shouldn't be-when she accidentally-on-purpose catches me in the gut with her elbow on her way out the door at the end of class.

"You owe me a new shirt, Skywalker." She growls, driving her knuckles into my kidneys so smoothly that nobody else even notices.

Pain explodes above my kidneys, chaining up my spine like lightning. I stumble out into the hallway, headed toward my locker in search of some Advil, that chick packs a mean elbow. After rifling through the miniature fallout zone that my locker has become for a good five minutes-it's amazing how disorganized something can be after only one day of use- and feeling like I've been run over by a truck while doing so,I come up empty-handed.

I rummage through the pockets of Dad's jacket, I've seen him stash little packets of Tylenol or Excedrin in the inner pockets for when he gets headaches. My fingers close around a small object and I pull it out for closer inspection.

It's a small unassuming white pill, with the word _Vader_ etched on the side of it.

_That's a wierd name for a painkiller_. I think, and then pop it into my mouth. Almost immediately the pain begins to melt away replaced by an inexplicable surge of adrenaline. I chalk it up to my flight-or-fight reflex kicking in _way_ too late and shuffle off down the hall.

I meet up with Wedge and Biggs in the Main Lobby, where the kid who was singing during lunch is talking to them. I catch the tail end of the conversation as I walk up to them.

"No way, man! Twelve flat? That's insane!" Wedge gasps as the kid shoves his hands in his pockets, smirking.

"What is?" I wonder.

Biggs slings an arm around my shoulders and gestures at the other boy. "Han here says he did the kessel run in twelve minutes flat."

I can feel my eyebrows raise in disbelief. "Really?" I wonder.

The Kessel Run is a twenty-mile stretch of road between the slums of Coruscant and the industrial section of the city, frequented by street racers and rigidly patrolled by police. You'd have to be doing at least a hundred miles an hour to get from point A to point B, and that's with no traffic. It's tough to do, but not impossible.

"That's pretty sweet." I interject.

"Yeah, word is there's another race out there tonight...You should come check it out-I saw you roll in this morning. If you can drive like that, I think you've got a real shot at winning, kid."Han admonishes.

"I'm down for that." I say, blood thrilling at the promise of a challenge.

"Lemme get your cell number, and I'll call you with the start times." Han says.

I pass him my phone as I recite the number so he can enter his contact information.

"I'll call you when I get the info." Han tells me. "Later on," he says in farewell, and then melts into the crowd of milling students.

"Later on," I repeat with a halfhearted wave.

"Are you guys coming?" I ask Wedge and Biggs.

"Nah, dude, I gotta work." Biggs says. "Bummer. I bet it's gonna be epic."

"No doubt." Wedge intones. "I'll be there for moral support, but I'm not gonna race."

"Cool," I say

"Word to the wise though, don't get caught. I heard the last guy that got caught a few years ago is doing five to ten in the county prison for resisting arrest, excessive speeding, and obstructing justice." Wedge's voice is uncharacteristically grave.

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if they just gave you a ticket and said 'don't do it again', now would it?" I reason.

"Whatever, man. Just be careful. That's all I'm saying." Wedge continues.

"Will do." I reply. "See you later." As Wedge and Biggs disappear into the stream of students, my cell phone rings, alerting me to a new text message from my sister:

_Don't forget about the student-council meeting today. I'll catch the late bus home, so don't wait up for me. See you at home._

_ Saved_ I think. The _last_ thing I want to do is wait around for an hour and a half while they discuss things that ultimately don't matter. I shrug my backpack over my shoulder and head out to the car, eager for the sun to set so I can take my shot at the famed Kessel Run.

Biggest. Mistake. Ever.

**Okay everyone, that's a wrap. Don't forget to review!**

**May the Force be with you,**

**~Ink**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay everyone, I think I have most of the major plot bugs worked out...Sorry for the wait, and as alwyas, thanks for your continued patience and support.**

**On to the next chapter!**

"Is everyone present and accounted for?" Bail asks, surveying Mon and I seriously.

I look around; the student council is currently comprised of just the three of us-I hope more students join soon. After all, we can hardly make fair decisions with only three people's viewpoints.

"Yep, I think that's everyone." Mon Mothma replies, flipping her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Okay. Does anyone want to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the previous session?" Bail questions.

"I," I reply.

"I second that." Mon agrees.

"Great," Bail says, flashing a smile. "Now to business; I've been hearing rumors that principal Palpatine will be returning to school for this year."

"Wait a minute...Isn't he supposed to be, you know, _dead_?" I wonder. As a child, my parents often regaled me with stories of the lengths they'd had to go to in order to protect our welfare. The fact that his name is popping up now, after all this time, is deeply disturbing.

"That's what I thought." Bail replies. "However, people are saying that he's been recovering in his own private medical facility. I don't know what from, but apparently it was pretty serious."

"What could possibly be so serious that you'd have to be in the hospital for seventeen years?" I ask, puzzled.

"I'm not sure..." Bail admits. "In any case, we need to be prepared in case he does return. If these rumors are true, he may take drastic measures to retake control of the school."

"So what do you suggest we do? We obviously can't just let him back in here; you've heard of all the horrible things that happened when he was principal here years ago. Do you really want to risk repeating history?" Mon demands, incredulous.

Bail raises a surprised eyebrow. "I wasn't finished. I know we can't let him in here again. That's why I'm proposing we start a rebellion."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Think of it as a smear campaign of sorts: we dig up as much dirt as we can find on this guy, and then, when the time comes for him to take the position, we expose him for who he really is." Bail suggests.

I'm all for keeping Palpatine out of office, but we're so few now...there's no way we'll be able to make any kind of difference with a group this size, no matter how loud we scream.

"That sounds risky." I admit, the stories Dad has told me in times past about the awful things Palpatine has done to those foolish enough to attempt to cross him jump to mind, unbidden and unwelcome, and I feel cold, and scared, and insignificant in the face of Palpatine's abilites.

I can't let it show, so I put on my best Sabbac-face and grit it out.

"We don't have nearly enough people to make ourselves heard." Mon says, and I can't help but agree with her. "We need more people."

_No...what we need is an army._

No sooner has this thought crossed my mind, then the janitor's knocking on the door and pointing at his watch.

"Sithspit, we're gonna miss the bus!" Bail says, the edge of panic creeping into his tone as he begins to gather his things. We'll discuss this more next week. In the meantime, try to get as many people on-board with this as you can. And remember: we all have sacrifices to make. Even if you hate somebody's guts, ask them to join anyway, because their input could be what gives us the oomph we need to make the school board see reason and select a new candidate for principal."

And then, Bail's grabbing his stuff and scooting out the door, Mon and I on his heels as we race for the bus stop outside of school.

**I know, short and a little dry to read, but I have to establish the political aspect of the story before I can write the more exciting parts like the Kessel Race next chapter! I apologize once again for the extended wait, and please don't forget to Review.**

**May the Force be with you,**

**~Ink**


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